


The Way Home

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Community: polybigbang, F/M, M/M, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-10
Updated: 2012-12-10
Packaged: 2017-11-20 20:02:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/589130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saul and Ellen are settling into their new lives on Earth when Bill returns after a year on his own. His arrival rekindles dormant feelings and a secret Ellen has been keeping for decades.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The leaves were just beginning to turn and Saul was sitting outside on an overturned bucket, whittling. He'd discovered he was surprisingly good at it for a guy with one eye and it definitely kept him occupied here on Earth, when he wasn't working. It took some adjustment, sure, to live without technology, but after a little over a year, he was mostly used to the way this society had turned out. 

They'd split into a number of villages and Saul and Ellen had settled in one of the larger ones, close to the mountains. Much of their livelihood came from farming, but there were plenty of other jobs to do, including construction—they were constantly figuring out how to improve their building structure and, even now, people were still moving out of temporary structures and into real houses.

Saul sighed and leaned back against the wall of the house. He wasn't sure what this carving was going to be—he usually let the wood decide, but today, it wasn't being too cooperative. 

That was when he noticed movement on the ridge high above the village. 

At first, Saul thought it might be an animal, but the more he watched it, the more obviously human (or Cylon) it became. 

Nobody should have been up there. Who was that?

Unless...

No. He couldn't even think about thinking about that. He was gone and Saul was just starting to accept that… 

Already, though, Saul was on his feet, shading his eye from the sun, getting his hopes up against his better judgment. He knew Bill's movements, didn't he? You didn't stare at a guy for thirty years and _not_ memorize the way he walked, the way he carried himself. 

It was definitely, probably, Bill. 

His first, panicked, thought was that he looked injured. But, no, it was just the rocky terrain. There was a reason nobody from the village ever went that way, but there'd be no way for Bill to know.

Gods, Saul had thought he was dead, had assumed he would never see him again, not after a year with no contact. How had he even known where they'd settled?

Saul let out the breath he'd been holding with a wheeze. He wanted to run to him, embrace him, tell him how much he'd missed him… but if Bill was up there, something had to be wrong. 

"What is it?" Ellen asked, coming from the door.

Saul could only point.

"My God," she murmured and Saul twitched. Even now, he hated hearing her say that.

Up on the ridge, Bill stumbled and caught himself on an exposed tree root.

"Should I go get him?" Saul heard himself ask.

Ellen looked at him like he had two heads. "Of course you should, Saul, look at him! That's your best friend! Why would you even hesitate?"

Relief washed over him. Part of him had been hesitating for her. 

"I'm going," he said gruffly, stepping in to grab his jacket. Once he had done so, he started running. The full weight of what he'd seen was just hitting him. Bill. _Bill_. 

Bill was _alive_. 

He offered up a silent prayer of thanks to the gods. He didn't care about the stares he got as he tore through town. All he cared about was reaching Bill before he hurt himself even more than he already was. 

He was already a few feet from him, but Bill didn't seem to notice him. He was still slowly making his way down the slope, moving precariously from handhold to handhold. Before Saul could react, Bill put his foot on a patch of loose dirt, sending him tumbling helplessly. Saul lunged to catch him, just barely grabbing hold of him before he fell out of reach. 

"Whoa," Saul said. "Watch it, okay?"

Bill looked up at him in disbelief. If Saul didn't know him so well that he had recognized his movements, he would never have known who it was. Only the eyes were a giveaway, still as blue as ever. His hair hung limply around his face, and he had a regular wild man beard going on. He was still gaping at Saul, as if he didn't quite believe his eyes.

"Hey," Bill finally said. Saul gripped his shoulders tighter. He didn't quite believe it either. Bill felt so _thin_. "It is you, right?"

"'Course it's me." Saul slipped Bill's arm around his shoulders, supporting him, and grabbed Bill's pack. "C'mon, let's get you home."

"Home," Bill repeated. His voice sounded odd and disused. "That's your and Ellen's house."

Well, at least his grammar hadn't suffered. That was a good sign. "Yup," Saul said. "That's me and Ellen's house." 

**

When they got there, Saul was surprised to see how concerned Ellen looked. "Bill, are you all right?" 

"I'm fine." He gave what was probably meant to be a reassuring smile, but it looked too much like a grimace. "Just thought I'd come for a visit." 

He still had a faraway look in his eyes and Saul could only guess at how the past year had been for him. Laura was obviously gone, and probably closer to that year mark. It would still hurt, though, he knew that from experience.

He had her back and it still hurt, remembering that time.

"You need a bath," Ellen said briskly, and Saul was thankful for her ability to take charge of the situation like that when Saul was too overcome by emotion.

Bill. Bill was alive and right here in front of him. But he couldn't have Saul falling all over him right now. Ellen gave Saul a knowing look. Gods, did he love her. She _understood_.

Bill was following Ellen out to where she'd already prepped the hot tub. "Why don't you head over to the market, Saul?" she said to him. "Bill could use some more clothes. Your things won't fit him." 

Saul was out the door, not needing to be told twice.

**

Bill wasn't quite sure what Ellen was up to, but he was too tired to care. The long walk in the hot sun and the multiple falls he'd taken in his climb had taken a lot out of him. 

He'd been in the Raptor until it ran out of fuel; after that, he'd had to choose, taking only the stuff he could carry, which had been books and things that reminded him of Laura, not food or water. He hadn't been thinking straight, probably hadn't been thinking straight for a few weeks now. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he was pretty sure something was. Maybe he was starting to crack. 

There couldn’t be any other explanation for why he was letting Ellen Tigh strip him and stick him in a tub.

He sank into the water and sighed.

"That feel good?" she asked him.

"Yeah." He couldn't remember when he'd last had a hot bath. 

"Ready?" she asked. 

When he nodded, she poured a pan of water of his head. 

"Do you want me to cut your hair?" she asked. 

"No thanks." He'd actually gotten used to having it this long and thought he'd miss it if it were cut. 

She made a noise that sounded a bit like disapproval. He hadn't realized Ellen cared about the length of his hair. "I'll just wash it then." 

Bill grunted his assent to this and Ellen began to scrub at his damp hair. For the first time in a long time, Bill felt himself begin to relax. Her fingers on his scalp really did feel good… 

At least he was still together enough to realize how absurd this scenario was. A year ago, he'd have laughed. A year ago… 

Ellen tugged on a knot in his hair and Bill blinked back tears.

**

Saul had an armful of clothes and the promise to bring vegetables and do favors in trade for them, but somehow his feet just weren't carrying him home. 

Why was he so nervous? Didn't he want to see Bill? 

He paused in front of a stall selling books. Maybe he ought to bring Bill a book. Bill liked books. 

"Can I help you?" the seller asked. 

"Oh, uh." Saul bit his lip. "Do you have any mysteries?" 

"We have an extensive collection," she said. "Some are particularly rare." Saul considered one of those, but then remembered the book Bill had been reading to Laura. Maybe that would bring up memories that were too painful? 

"And these are our thrillers," the woman went on. Saul gravitated toward what looked like a series, all with a Viper pilot on the cover. Maybe Bill would like these? 

"That's a very good choice," she said, noticing his interest. "And that is one of my rare complete series."

"I'll take them," Saul said, trying not to sound too eager, in case that drove the price up. (He'd been burned by this new barter system in the past.) "We have a vegetable garden." 

She nodded thoughtfully. "So do we."

Saul sighed inwardly. He'd been holding back on this, but for Bill, he might as well. "I work construction detail."

"My daughter's house needs a new door." 

"Done." 

They shook on the deal and she gave him a sack for the books. "You know," she said, "our roof needs work, too—I could give you these, as well."

"Sure." Another large stack went into the bag. Saul didn't know what kind of books they were but he knew Bill would read anything if he was bored enough. 

By the time he got home, it was getting late and he was struggling under the weight of all his packages.

Ellen came to meet him at the gate. "Where have you been?" she asked. 

"Shopping," Saul said. Wasn't that obvious? 

She shook her head. "Come on in, but be quiet. Bill's asleep."

Ellen had made Bill a bed on the cot in the living room and he was wrapped up tight in his blankets. All Saul could see was the top of his head. 

"Is he all right?"

"More or less. He ate dinner and went right to sleep but he isn't sick, just tired and a bit sunburned."

Saul watched him sleep for a few moments. Ellen stayed next to him the whole time, which surprised him—she seemed to be taking a lot more care of Bill than Saul had expected. 

"Come on," she said quietly, "your dinner's in the kitchen."

Ellen sat across the table, watching him as he ate. She must've eaten with Bill. Odd.

"So," he said to break the silence, "how is he really?"

"Oh, Saul." She had an expression Saul had never seen on her face when talking about Bill. "He's obviously heartbroken. He's been alone for so long it was almost like he'd forgotten how to interact with people." 

"Did he say why he came to us?"

She shook her head. "He didn't say much at all."

Saul looked down at his dinner, suddenly no longer hungry. 

"But he's here," she said, laying a reassuring hand over Saul's. "We'll do what we can, Saul."

He met her eyes. "You're really serious about this, huh?"

Ellen smirked. "Oh, Saul, don't you think we've come far enough that we don't have to worry about that anymore?" 

"I know, I know." He squeezed her hand. "Just never thought you liked him."

"I think he needs all the friends he can get."

Saul nodded, feeling better about this. There was no question he loved Bill, wanted to help him. But he knew how much that had bothered Ellen over the years, him always seeming to pick Bill over her. And then, Bill had just vanished, taking away Saul's having to choose… 

"Tomorrow, we'll see how he's doing," she went on. "We can decide what to do from there."

Saul stood and stretched. "Seems like he just needs to be around other humans again." He stopped when she gave him a look. "Oh, you know what I mean. Sure, we're not humans, but he is."

Something flashed across her face but it could have been his imagination. "Of course," she said. She stood and slipped her arm around his waist. "Let's go to bed, Saul, it's late."

He kissed her. "Have I told you lately how lucky I am to have you?"

Her head fell onto his shoulder. "You can tell me again."

"I am so frakking lucky to have you." 

"Mm." She smiled at him. "You can show me…"

"Oh, c'mere." He scooped her up, despite her protests and carried over into their bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

**

Breakfast the next morning was quiet, which was fine by Bill. He was still sizing up the situation, trying to figure out how he fit in here. How long did they want him to stay? Was he going to be getting in the way?

Saul and Ellen didn't seem to know what to say either. Small talk seemed inappropriate, and they couldn't really ask how his year had gone—not that he'd tell them. 

Finally, Saul finished eating and got up. "Well, I'm off to work. Guess I'll see you two later." The look he gave Bill was an order from the XO, a _you'll be here when I came home, just in case you were thinking of moving on_.

Bill had been, actually, but he nodded and went back to his oatmeal. 

After breakfast, he helped Ellen clear the table. He hadn't counted on this part of the awkwardness, spending all day home with Ellen. He decided he ought to at least engage her a bit in conversation.

"So, what does Saul do?" 

"Construction." Ellen handed him a dishrag and began pumping water to the fill the sink for washing. "They go around to people who need work done or houses built and do it."

"So, who lives around here?"

"There are a lot of civilians in our village, a few Cylons. The Agathons are here and so's Doc Cottle, of course." She went on to name a few people Bill didn't know. He wondered if he'd ever get to know them, how long he could manage to stay. Lee was out there somewhere, wandering around. Maybe Bill could do the same thing?

Ellen went on describing their lifestyle, the school, the hunting parties, the farms and community cropshares. It all sounded very nice to Bill as he dried the dishes. Just not for him. Not for people who were on their own. 

"So," she said finally, "how long…?"

Bill froze, cup in his hand. He lowered his head, letting his hair fall in front of his eyes. "About a year now," he said softly. "It was that day." 

He didn't have to explain what had happened. Ellen immediately took the mug from him and enveloped him in a hug.

"Oh, Bill, I'm so, so sorry." 

He stood there stiffly until she stepped back. 

"Can you say what brings you down here?" she asked tentatively.

He shook his head. "Don't know. Just thought I'd come." 

She nodded. "Why don't you get some fresh air? Saul has a place outside he likes to sit and watch the world go by." 

Bill couldn't get out of the kitchen fast enough.

Once outside, though, he wasn't sure quite what to do. He tried sitting on Saul's bucket, but that quickly got boring. 

Maybe he should check out the town, see what people were up to. It did feel good to stretch his legs and get some sun. 

As he walked, he could see that the town was really coming along. So much had happened in the year he'd been alone. It was like the world had gone on without him. People building houses, settling in, getting work, starting families… And they didn't need him to do it.

He passed a cluster of former deckhands, talking by a pole with a large bell on it—something to call the community together? Bill stuck his hands in his pockets and let his hair fall forward over his shoulders. They gave no indication of recognizing him.

He sighed. Maybe he really was ready to be put out to pasture.

He continued his circuit of the town, now half-hoping to encounter somebody who'd know him, but mostly hoping he didn't. He liked being invisible, after having been _the admiral_ for so long. It was a strange feeling, being anonymous. 

He was startled out of his reverie by a mechanical-sounding noise around the corner and a shout. 

"Get your hands off me, you frakking toaster!"

Then, a very familiar bellow: "Is that how you thank the guy who just saved your ass?" 

Bill sidled around the edge of what appeared to be the school (oh, gods, would she be working here if…?) and looked. 

There was some construction going on in an empty lot, centered around what appeared to be a crude pile driver. Saul was standing on the platform, struggling against the hold Figurski had on him as he let out a stream of curses at the man on the ground. 

Dave Gibson. Gods, was it really him? Had he survived all these years? 

Gibson had been their boss all those years ago on that frakking freighter and Saul had hated his guts. The feeling had been mutual, too. Now, here they were stuck working together. 

Bill couldn't hear all of the argument. Figurski was doing an admirable job of what had been Bill's job thirty years ago—trying to calm down an angry Saul. 

It seemed that thirty years and a Cylon apocalypse had done nothing to temper the loathing between Saul and Gibson. 

Bill realized Saul would probably be mad if he knew Bill had witnessed this. He turned and went back the way he'd come.

Well, at least he wasn't the only person who was miserable.

**

Ellen stood at the window, watching Bill. He'd come home a few hours ago and was now sitting on Saul's overturned bucket, staring at the mountains in the distance. She desperately wanted to go out and talk to him, but what would she say? He wouldn't want to talk to her, she was sure of that, but…

She was the only one who could help him.

Yes, of that she was definitely sure. 

She had been worried about this for some time now, especially after he'd vanished. She had, under no circumstances, expected him to come back. Now that he had, the first thing she'd thought of was this: it had already started and Ellen wasn't sure she could stop it. 

She heaved a frustrated sigh and pushed her hair back from her face. She couldn't tell Saul and she _definitely_ couldn't tell Bill. 

She'd have to do something about it on her own. 

**

She didn't like not telling them. It felt dishonest, even if it was just a lie of omission. She and Saul had pledged to be honest with each other and this really wasn't helping.

But, oh, neither of them would take it well at all.

Which was why she was in the darkened living room, crouching over Bill Adama's sleeping body. She had to do this carefully or she'd have to explain herself...

Gingerly, she slid her fingers into his hair and pressed them to his scalp. Definite deterioration. She'd felt it earlier when he'd let her wash his hair, but it was obvious now.

For the thousandth time, she wished Saul didn't have that memory block in place. She needed help if she was going to fix this.

Bill's parts were wearing out.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Bill tried to get Saul alone in the bathroom.

Calling it a bathroom was being generous - really, it was a shack with a curtained-off area next to it. Saul was shaving when Bill opened the curtain and stepped in.

"Don't you knock?"

Okay, good, Bill thought. Saul was in a good mood (a bad mood would have involved swearing).

"We need to talk," Bill said in a low voice.

"Do we have to do it in the head?"

Bill bit his lip. "It's personal."

Saul's eye went wide. "You having a… _problem_ , Bill?"

"What?" Bill squinted at him. "No! Well, yes. But it's not really my problem. It's yours." He scratched his chin. How to put this...?

"What is it then?"

"It's Ellen."

Saul lowered his razor and Bill instantly regretted doing this while he was equipped with a sharp object. Why the frak had Saul always favored a straight razor? "What?"

Bill sighed. "She was sitting in my bed last night."

"What?"

"I don't think she knew I was awake." Bill knew how absurd this sounded. He tucked his hair behind his ear and went on. "I haven't been sleeping too well, you know."

Saul looked sympathetic. "But, Bill. Were you dreaming?"

"No." he sighed. "I was dreaming and she woke me up." That had been the painful part; he'd been dreaming about Laura only to awaken to find Ellen in his bed.

Saul frowned and went back to shaving. "I'll talk to her," he said, with uncharacteristic calm. "Don't worry about it." He splashed water in his face and put his razor back in the rack. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay." Bill watched Saul push the canvas aside and step out of the bathroom. Should he be worried about how well he'd taken that?

**

Saul tried to stay calm as he entered the house. He found Ellen in the kitchen. 

"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" he asked. 

Ellen looked hesitant, but then she said, "How much do you remember?"

"Remember? About what? What's that have to do with anything?"

She pursed her lips. "I mean from before."

Saul scratched behind his ear. "You mean when we were Cylons?"

"Saul, we still _are_ Cylons."

"I know, I know." He sighed. "The answer is—not much. Hardly anything. But what the frak does that have to do with anything?"

"You're going to ask about Bill," she said. "I know."

"Yeah? So you want to explain about Bill?"

She sighed and crossed her arms over his chest. "You have to promise to take this well, Saul. I never told you because I always knew you wouldn't take this well." 

Saul thought she had a point, but he was deciding to be charitable. He pulled up a stool and sat. "Okay. I promise to take it well."

Ellen brushed her hair back and sat on the other stool. She moistened her lips and took Saul's hand in hers. His stomach dropped. This must really be serious. Ellen had a habit of over-prepping you for something she was about to tell you so that it was never as bad as you thought it would be based on her endless warnings, but this did not bode well.

"I'm not even sure where to start."

"Well, how about the beginning?" 

She took another deep breath and brushed her thumb across his palm. "Okay. You've heard the story. About how we got to the Twelve Colonies. But do you know what happened when we got there?"

"I thought the war was on."

"It's a bit more than that, actually. That was when we made contact with the Centurions. We first made contact with Daniel Greystone." 

Saul's heart skipped a beat. "Daniel Greystone? You've got to be joking."

She sighed. "Saul, if I was joking—"

"Right, right, sorry, go on."

"Bill told you about his father's first family, right?"

"Yeah, they were killed in a terrorist bombing." He paused, the pieces falling together in his mind. "STO. Zoe Greystone."

"Yes, well, poor Zoe was actually innocent…"

"How do you know that?"

"Because we _met_ her, Saul. The Greystones were the ones who pioneered the development of the humanoid Cylons." 

" _They_ made the skinjobs? Not us?"

"Saul, don't call them that! And no, we made our children. But, we also…" She paused. "We had some technology the Greystones didn't. They could produce a synthetic body, but they didn't have the technology to…" She paused. "For aging."

"I didn't think our sk—Seven aged."

"They don't." She paused, seeming to sort her thoughts. "But Bill does."

Saul's eye widened. "What are you saying?" 

"I think you know what I'm saying, Saul." 

"He's not… he can't be. He fought in the war, godsdammit." 

"His father wanted to replace his son," Ellen was saying. "He'd lost everything, Saul, I remember how heartbroken he was. He made a deal with Greystone and Greystone made a deal with us."

Saul swallowed hard. "I still don't…" 

"I know," she said gently. "You didn't want any part of it at the time. It was all just me." 

"So what's this got to do with him now?"

"Don't you see, Saul? He's deteriorating." Ellen looked distressed. "I told Greystone those were shoddy parts, but he didn't listen to me. They only have a guarantee for sixty years. How old is Bill now?"

Saul shrugged. "Sixty-three—oh." 

She nodded. "Technically only sixty. We made him to look three."

The full weight of what she meant hit Saul and he buried his head in his hands. "He's going to die."

"Not if we can repair him. I've been trying, but he stopped letting me get near him."

"Well, could I help?"

She looked thoughtful. "I could tell you what to do. He might let you touch him."

"Okay." Saul was a bit skeptical of this. "I'll try."

"We have to hurry," she went on. "He'll continue physically deteriorating and pretty soon it will manifest as personality changes. He'll just keep going downhill until…" She paused. "Until he dies."

Saul swallowed hard. He wasn't going to let Bill die. He had a sudden flash of Bill lying on that bed in sickbay, looking so pale and so old. "We don't tell him. It would destroy him." 

"I know."

"I have to get to work." Work was the last place Saul wanted to be, but he had to go. "You take care of him."

"I will." She kissed him and Saul pushed his way out of the kitchen. Bill was still at the table, calmly eating his breakfast. 

"I'm going to work," Saul said. 

Bill nodded. "Have a good day." 

He didn't seem to have heard them. Good. Saul grabbed his jacket and toolbox and left.

**

The walk to the job site gave him time to think. 

Bill was a Cylon. Just like them. Well, no, not _just_ like them. He was completely different. But he couldn't imagine that Bill had been made artificially. He just seemed so… _human_. 

_But you thought you were human_ , Saul thought to himself. So that really didn't mean anything… 

"You're late, Toaster." 

"Family trouble," Saul bit out, clapping his hardhat on his head and not even looking at Gibson. "Where you want me today?"

"Over on the foundation." He waved Saul over and Saul went. 

"Morning, Colonel," Figurski said. "Things okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine." Saul studied the bricks critically. "You wanna tackle this together?"

He really didn't mind doing this—liked it, actually. And he liked working with Figurski. It was Gibson who could go frak himself. 

He'd always had it in for Saul and knowing he was a Cylon had made it worse.

One good thing about working with Figurski was that he knew when to shut his mouth—he didn't ask Saul what was bothering him or try to make conversation. They worked in silence, but it was a good silence, a friendly silence. 

**

After lunch, Bill left the house. He couldn't stand Ellen staring at him and he wanted to get some air. 

He walked, hands in his pockets, for about thirty minutes. That was the story of his life, it seemed—eating, sleeping and wandering around. He shook his head. Maybe he would be moving on soon. 

He heard a door open and someone tossed a bucket of water out by the stoop, splashing Bill's feet. He looked up. 

"Admiral!" It was Wheeler, a Marine from _Galactica_. "I didn't know it was you, sir, I'm so sorry." 

Bill shrugged. "Not the Admiral anymore. It doesn't matter." 

"Well, come in, anyway." Wheeler opened the door wider. "Let me get you a drink on the house." 

"Drink?" Bill looked up, seeing the sign above the door. It simply read BAR. Well, at least the meaning was clear.

**

Saul was sitting next to Figurski, their friendly silence having extended into the noon meal, with the occasional breaks to comment on the weather, the harvest or how much of a dick Gibson was.

"I'd give anything to have Chief back," Figurski said, shoveling a fish roll into his mouth. "Or you. How come you're not foreman?"

Saul shrugged. "Dunno. When we started, I was tired of bossing people around." He took a swig of cold coffee from his canteen. 

"And now?"

"Somebody else is in charge now."

"You could start your own detail. Plenty of work to do. We've jobs locked in for months." 

"And who'd want a toaster for a boss?"

Figurski grinned. "Me for one. Most of the rest of the old deck gang. And I'm sure a few civilians, too."

Saul was about to say something else to shoot this notion down but a shadow fell over them. "Saul Tigh?"

Saul looked up. The brown tunics and belts identified the men as peace officers—cops. What could they want with him?

"Yes," he said slowly. 

"Is William Adama staying at your house?"

"Yes." He glanced at Figurski, who was clearly just as baffled. 

"You'll want to come with us." 

Saul's stomach dropped like a stone. "Why?"

"We'll tell you on the way."

"You can tell me now." He stood shakily. 

"Confidentiality compels us…" 

"Is he dead?"

The officer blinked. "He's physically unharmed. Please come with us, sir."

Saul glanced back at Figurski. 

"I'll tell Gibson," he said. Saul nodded gratefully. He'd rather have a human inform him after the fact than try to argue with the boss right now.

**

Bill was the only person in the holding cell. He was sitting under the window, his head between his legs. His hair was covering his face, hiding his expression so Saul wasn't sure if he was doing it because he was upset or to mask the smell from the bucket in the corner. 

A female officer approached him. "Sir, if you'll sign here, we can release him into your custody."

"What happened?"

She pursed her lips. "It seems he started a fight in a bar. The men won't press charges on assault, nor will the owner of the establishment for property damage, but we're holding him as a menace to the community until a responsible party signs for him."

"A menace to the community?" Bill Adama was about the last person Saul would call a menace to any community. He was… well, he was Bill. Sweet, clever, wonderful Bill. 

Then it hit him, what Ellen had said that morning about personality changes. Gods, no. No. 

"He'll need an eye kept on him," she explained. "He should get a job."

Saul cringed at the way they were talking to him like he wasn't right there within earshot. "I'll look after him." He signed and they opened the cell. It took Bill a moment to get to his feet and over to the door. Saul offered him his arm automatically.

"You hurt?"

"I'm fine."

Saul still offered Bill his arm and he still took it. 

It was almost sunset when they got home. He deposited Bill in the back porch swing, and went inside.

"What happened?" Ellen asked. "He went out and never came back—"

Saul opened the cabinet under the counter and pulled out a bottle. "I'm telling him," he said firmly. "There's no other way."

Ellen looked like she might protest, but she nodded. "I'll be in here if you want to ask me anything."

Saul uncorked the bottle and went outside.

**

"We have to talk." Saul dropped into the swing next to Bill, stretching his long legs out in front of them and pushing off. 

Bill nodded. 

"You're not going to like it, but we do. When I'm done, you can hit me if you like."

"I wouldn't hit you."

Saul snickered and took a swig. "Do you remember when you thought you might be adopted?"

Bill opened his mouth to ask what Saul was talking about, but then it all came back—that night he and Saul had gone out one night and dropped by Bill's parents' apartment since they were away on a cruise and Bill needed to water their plants…

_"This you?" Saul asked, picking up a framed picture of a chubby baby boy._

_"No," Bill said, after studying it for a second. "That's my brother." Saul raised an eyebrow, and Bill added, "Half-brother. He died before I was born. My dad had two kids with his first wife. He just had me with Mom."_

_Saul scanned the collection of pictures. "So, where are you?"_

_"There." He indicated his flight school and high school graduation pictures, and one of him about five years old._

_"No baby pictures?"_

_"Not here. Hold on." Bill headed over to the shelf and ran his finger along the spines of some of the books. When he found the one marked with the range of years that included his birth year, he pulled it down. "They should be in here."_

_The album spanned three years—the year before he was born, the year he was born and the year after. The year before he was born had pictures of his parents, his uncles and some of the last ones of Willie before he'd died. His parents' wedding. A trip to Tauron to visit his maternal uncle._

_Saul leaned over to look, too. "You were born in Junius, Bill. Why isn't she pregnant?"_

_Bill frowned, studying the picture. 7th Junius, the caption read. His parents were fly-fishing on Tauron._

_"That was the day you were born." Saul laughed. "You have the wrong year here. She ought to be in the hospital having you."_

_Bill scowled, flipping pages again, to the next year. All throughout the year, his parents were depicted doing various things, his mother flat-stomached._

_Saul took down the next album. The first few pages were the same as the previous album. His parents and uncles, no children, no indication of pregnancy. Around the middle of the album, a dark-haired, blue-eyed toddler showed up._

_"There you are!" Saul exclaimed. "You're a cute little bugger." He sat down on the couch, flipping through the pictures of Bill's naming ceremony. "They didn't take any pictures of you before this?"_

_"I guess not," said Bill. He paused. It felt like there was an itch on the back of his neck he couldn't scratch. "I don't know why."_

_"Maybe a cultural thing?" Saul was studying the pictures from Bill's naming ceremony carefully, having never seen one. "I know on Gemenon, they don't cut kids' hair til, like, five."_

_Bill frowned. "But they took pictures of Willie and Tammy."_

_Saul shut the book. "Maybe you're adopted."_

_Bill looked again at the pictures. "I always thought I looked like my dad."_

_Saul shrugged. "They picked out a kid who looked like your dad. They probably didn't want you to know, you know? They'd just lost two kids, Bill, they were probably desperate."_

_"Yeah," said Bill thoughtfully. "You must be right. I guess I am adopted."_

_Saul handed him the album back._

_"I'm not going to tell them I know," Bill said. "They think they've been able to keep it a secret for thirty years. Why burst their bubble?"  
_  
And then, the very next day, he'd gone to see his uncle…

_"Uncle Sam… I know. I figured it out last night."_

_Sam looked at him blankly. "Know what?"_

_"Where I came from."_

_Sam went white. "Bill," he said sharply, making him feel about eight years old. "Who told you?"_

_"Nobody," Bill said. "I just figured it out."_

_"How?" Sam opened his desk drawer for a cigarette. His hands were shaking._

_"I looked at the pictures. Mom's not pregnant the day I was born and there aren't any of me until I'm two. It's obvious."_

_It took Sam three tries to light his smoke. "Bill, you have to understand. You aren't just a replacement. I never understood it entirely, never trusted Greystone, though your father did, and--"_

_"Greystone?" Bill asked. "Did he arrange my adoption?"_

_"Adoption?" Sam asked, staring stupidly._

_"Well, yeah," said Bill. "What did you think I was talking about? It's okay, Sam, I don't mind. I just wanted to know the circumstances."_

_Sam sighed deeply and took his cigarette out of his mouth. He muttered something in Tauron that Bill wasn't quite fluent enough to catch._

_"What do you want to know?" he finally asked._

_Bill shrugged. "Where'd you get me from?"_

_"Tauron," Sam answered. He was speaking slowly, his eyes slightly unfocused. "During the war, there were a lot of displaced children. I picked you out myself. You were at an orphanage. They said your family had probably been killed by rebels, but they weren't sure. There were no records, so I just gave them some cash and took you. We printed your birth certificate and ident right here, downstairs. We meant to do it legit, but once I saw you over there, I couldn't leave you behind. I knew you belonged in our family."_

_Bill bit his lip._

_"Don't tell your parents," said Sam hastily. "They never wanted you to know. Mostly because the adoption was illegal."_

_"I wasn't going to," Bill said._

_Sam squeezed his arm. "Don't go digging, Bill. It was a hard time for everyone. You're an Adama. That's all that matters."  
_  
He'd let it lie, never bothered with it again, so he was surprised it was relevant now. What had Saul found out? Everybody involved but Bill was dead. 

"Well, that's not quite true." Saul rubbed his mouth. That was the signal, Bill knew, for something he wasn't going to like. "You know about your father's first family."

"Yeah."

Saul took a deep breath and reached for the bottle. "Your parents didn't go to Tauron to get you. They went to Daniel Greystone." 

Slowly, Saul explained. He tried to do the best he could, with the details he had, which were somewhat sparse, but he figured Ellen could fill him in later.

When he'd finished, Bill sighed and took the bottle back. "I thought something was wrong."

"How so?"

"I just felt… wrong." He shrugged. "Didn't know what to make of it… Thought I just missed Laura, that maybe my time was up."

Saul slipped his arm around Bill's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"I know. I'm sorry, too." There were the tears threatening again, but this time, they didn't fall. "She wouldn't want me to give up, though. I know that." 

Saul gave him a squeeze. "I'm glad, Bill." 

Bill gave him a faint smile. "Hope you don't mind if I stick around for a while longer, disturbing your married life."

"You never could."


	3. Chapter 3

The back door opened and Saul came in. Ellen looked up.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He's fine. Resting, but he should be okay." 

Saul's shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank the gods." He pulled out a chair and sat. "I just couldn't stay and watch."

"That's okay." She took his hand. "You didn't have to." 

They sat in silence for a bit before she said, "So what to do you want to do now?"

"What do you mean?" 

"If you want to be with Bill, I won't stop you."

"Oh, Ellen." He cupped her cheek. "I couldn't. I love you."

"But you love him, too." 

He was about to deny it, but couldn't. 

"But is this something you might want?" she pressed.

Saul shrugged. "Ellen, don't even… I mean… I don't even know if he's still interested."

"Well," Ellen began slowly, "we could try to figure it out."

Saul shook his head. "Ellen, he doesn't—"

"How do you know?" She gripped his arm. "I know you care about him and he cares about you. I know you two stopped fooling around when you met me but that doesn't mean it didn't happen!" 

Saul's lips twisted into a frown. "So, hypothetically, what if he was interested?" He knew she wouldn't happily give him up, no matter how willing she claimed to be. 

"Well." She smirked. "Remember when we were first married? I really liked seeing you with other men, Saul." 

Saul felt the back of his neck grow hot. He and Ellen had done that from time to time, years ago, when things were all good and there wasn't any tension. They'd intentionally built their bed here to be big enough for three, but nothing had come of it.

"I don't even know if he's interested."

"You already said that, dear." She smiled.

"Well, I can't _ask_ him."

"No, but we can see what happens."

Saul frowned. Ellen got up and put her arms around him. "Saul," she said gently, "I just want you to be happy."

"And you'd be into this?"

She grinned. "Very." 

He got up and hugged her. "We'll see." He kissed her, sliding his hands down her back. "But for now, it's just you and me." 

She laughed and kissed him back. "I guess I should enjoy it while I have you all to myself." 

**

Saul went to work the next day expecting Gibson to yell at him, but he didn't. That was fine, since it let Saul think about Bill. Ellen had assured him Bill was fine, but he'd still been asleep when Saul had left that morning, so he couldn't be sure.

He got his answer when it was quitting time.

"Somebody's here to pick you up," Figurski said with a smirk. Saul looked up.

Bill was leaning against a fence post across the way, looking casual. He was dressed in new, clean clothes and he had his hair tied back. He looked more put-together than Saul had seen him since he'd gotten there.

"Hey," Saul said, approaching him. "How do you feel?"

"Better." Bill smiled. "Your wife's a miracle worker." 

Saul gave him a playful shove. "Watch what you say about my wife!"

Bill was grinning, though. "I'm the one who spends all day with her." 

"While I work to support your ass." 

Bill stuck his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Don't mention it." Saul slung his arm around Bill's shoulders, unspeakably grateful to have his best friend back. "Don't mention it at all."

**

The next few weeks seemed to fly by for Saul. The weather was getting colder, which meant they were working overtime to make repairs on houses that needed them to be ready for winter. 

"I'm going to do it," he said, one day, as he and Figurski were eating lunch.

"Do what?" 

Saul took a bite of his sandwich. "On Saturnalia. I'm going to stick it to Gibson." 

Figurski let out a low whistle. "Have fun with that." 

"I have to," Saul said. "I'm going to go nuts otherwise. Saturnalia's perfect, right?"

Figurski didn't look convinced, but he nodded. "You're going to get sacked."

"Oh, I know." Saul grinned. "I can't wait."

**

Maybe he was just being overconfident, but somehow, he was feeling better about the plain to seduce Bill, too. He and Ellen hadn't put it in so many words, but that was what it was. 

Obviously, he'd never try to push Bill into something he didn't want to do, but if he wasn't mistaken, Bill had been flirting with both of them over the past few days. It was never anything serious—just a bit of light teasing that was starting to drive Saul nuts.

He was glad, though, that Bill seemed to be settling in for the long haul. He'd spent so much of those first few days worried that Bill would leave that he was ecstatic to see him every evening when he came home. 

Usually, Bill was bent over an herbal guide (which happened to be one of the books Saul had gotten for him that he hadn't paid attention to), studying. Saul had been surprised to see this, but apparently, he'd been working with Ellen in the garden and had developed an interest.

"They told me to get a job, right?" he said, leaning back in his chair. They'd never talked about Bill's encounter with the law, though he'd gone down to apologize to Sergeant Wheeler. "I like this. I might talk to Cottle, see if I can do anything to help here while he's traveling to one of the other settlements."

"I think you'd be good at that, Bill," Ellen said, looking up from her mending. 

"Especially with winter coming," Bill went on. "I want to get out there and gather some of these things before they die off."

"Aren't those plants from the Colonies?" Saul asked.

Bill nodded. "They are. But there are enough similar ones around that I can probably adapt them to fit." He paused. "I was going to go out gathering tomorrow—would you like to join me, Ellen?" 

She smiled. "Certainly, Bill. I'd love to."

Saul shook his head and smiled to himself. This ought to be fun. 

**

Bill and Ellen set out the next morning after Saul had left for work. It was a misty fall morning, with just enough of a chill for Bill to turn up the collar of his coat. 

"So," she said, when they'd gone a ways outside of town, "how do you feel?"

"I feel fine." He grinned. "Better than I have in years."

"That's wonderful." She paused. "I'm so sorry for not telling you before."

He shrugged. "I can't say I blame you. I wouldn't have wanted to know. It's still hard to contemplate." 

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bill, that was a difficult time for everyone involved. I'm not entirely proud of my role in it, but I'm certainly glad you're, well, you."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "It's nice to hear you say that."

"Oh, Bill, don't think there should be any tension between us. I care about you."

He frowned. He hadn't expected this kind of conversation from her—asking her to go gathering with him had been mainly so he'd have some company and so that she wouldn't be left alone all day. He'd enjoyed spending time with her while Saul was working and he was a little ashamed of himself for being surprised at that. There was no reason he and Ellen couldn't be friends. 

"That means a lot." He gave her hand a squeeze. 

"And you stay with us as long as you like," she said quickly. "Don't you dare think about moving out."

Frankly, Bill hadn't given one thought to moving out. Maybe there was something wrong with that, but he liked staying with Saul and Ellen. It made him feel like he was young again, spending time with Saul. 

"You don't have to worry about that," he said, examining the list of plants he was looking for. "You're too good a cook."

Ellen laughed—they both knew her cooking wasn't the reason he was staying. In fact, Bill wanted to talk to her about doing some more of it himself—at least he knew Saul liked his cooking.

"Here you go," she said, pointing. "You wanted some of these with the purple flower."

"Right." Bill was pleased she remembered. He knelt and cut the flower like the book had described. 

The conversation drifted, then, to whether he thought these plants could be cultivated in a garden, whether they might mimic the affects of the medicinal herb native to Picon described in Bill's book.

"I certainly hope so," he said, tucking the plant into his shoulder bag. "I know we're going to be in trouble once Cottle runs out of medicine and there are some things he's already out of."

Ellen nodded and brushed her hair behind her ear. "That's what this whole year has been about, really. We've all been adapting to this new life. There are times when I forget where I am when I wake up—I expect to be back on _Galactica_." She laughed. "Isn't it odd that it's there, rather than back on the Colonies?"

"I don't think so." Bill felt a fond smile spread across his face. "I felt more at home on that ship than I have most of the places I've lived."

"I thought you might say that." She laughed. "You and Saul are so predictable. You both love that ship."

Bill was suddenly reminded of how it had been in the old, old days, before Ellen, before they were back in the Fleet, when he knew he could take comfort in Saul winding up in his bunk before the night was over, with their shared dreams and more.

"Those were the days," he murmured. 

She made a face. "Oh, Bill, listen to yourself! 'Those were the days,'" she intoned, in a dreary approximation of his voice. "We can have fun. Build new memories."

Bill glanced up at her. Her expression was mostly obscured by her hair and her scarf, but he thought she was smirking. "Oh? And how might we do that?"

"Well, there's Saturnalia." 

"Saturnalia." Bill grinned. "I'd almost forgotten about that."

Ellen's eyes went wide. "Forgot about Saturnalia?" 

Bill laughed. "I know. But it was never one of my favorite holidays."

"Well," she said, "I think you'll like how we do it here." She squeezed his hand. "Saul adores Saturnalia." 

Somehow—or maybe it was the cold—that made Bill shiver. 

**

Something smelled good. Saul pushed the front door open. Something smelled _very_ good. 

"Hello?" he called, setting his lunchbox down. "Anyone home?"

"Saul!" Bill appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Welcome home."

He came up to him and for a split second, Saul thought Bill was going to kiss him. Not that he'd be upset, of course. He was almost disappointed when Bill simply pulled him into a one-armed hug—but he was thrilled Bill was even hugging him. This wouldn't have happened a few weeks ago. 

"Where's Ellen?" 

"In the garden." 

For a long moment, neither of them moved and Saul was conscious of Bill's closeness. He wondered if Bill was remembering those years when it had been just the two of them, after Bill was divorced, before Saul had met Ellen… Saul had never quite been sure what Bill thought of that time, but Saul had never quite been able to stop thinking about it, especially not now.

"So, she's got you doing the cooking now?"

"Yep." Bill grinned and Saul's stomach twisted. He longed to ask how his day with Ellen had gone, but he didn't want to interrupt this, wherever it might lead…

The teapot whistled, then, pulling them both from their reveries. Bill stepped back into the kitchen. "You want to go get Ellen? It's time to eat." 

"Sure." Saul swallowed hard. He definitely had to talk to Ellen.


	4. Chapter 4

He finally got the chance to that night as they were lying in bed. 

"So," he said, rolling onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow, "What do we do about Saturnalia?"

Ellen grinned. "Ask him out, of course."

For some reason, Saul hadn't considered that it might be that easy. "You think he'd say yes?"

"Anything's possible." 

Saul rolled onto his back. He was keenly feeling the separation between them and Bill, with him still sleeping on his cot in the living room instead of their warm bed. 

"We'll start out wondering what we'll go as," Ellen explained, leaning over him. "We'll have to suggest something that needs three people." 

Saul bit his lip. He'd always been horrible at coming up with Saturnalia costume ideas. Now he was supposed to come up with three? 

"You have an idea or something?"

She beamed and slipped her arm under his neck, straddling him. "Oh, yes."

"Mind telling me?" 

"Hmm…" She pushed his nightshirt up. "Well, I'd already been thinking of going as Aphrodite." 

"So that makes me Hephaestus, huh?"

"If you want…"

Saul snorted. "I see where this is going I don't really see Bill as Ares, though."

"That's not the point, Saul. The point is things would have worked out much better if they'd all gotten along."

"I think you're forgetting a few key details."

"Not the point, Saul." 

He smirked. He loved when she got flustered like that, especially during sex. "I suppose we could try it."

"After all," she added, sliding her hands down his chest, "we just need an opening—if you can think of a better three-person costume—a _sexy_ three-person costume, I'd like to hear it."

"Mm." Her movements were definitely impairing his ability to think clearly. "That's a wonderful idea, Ellen."

She laughed. "We'll talk to him later."

**

It wasn't every night that Bill could hear them, but he could tonight and it was especially bad. 

They were a married couple and he was essentially invading their house—he couldn't begrudge them an active sex life. He just wished they were a little quieter.

It was mostly Saul who was loud, he knew from experience. He closed his eyes, picturing Saul's face making every gasp. The last time he'd seen Saul like that, he'd been younger with thick red hair and the stubble that came with being lazy with a razor in space.

Bill pulled his nightshirt up and reached for his already-stiff cock. For the first time, though, he wasn't thinking about Laura, or some unspecified fantasy. Usually, he could tune Saul and Ellen out enough to do that, but tonight, they were relentlessly worming their ways into his mind. 

Ah, well. 

He closed his eyes and imagined them on either side of him, imagined that Ellen's moans were for him and that it was Saul's hand on his cock. That was good enough for now.

**

Breakfast would have been awkward if that had been the first time, but Bill was quite used to acting like he hadn't jerked off to them the night before. 

"Saturnalia," Ellen said suddenly, as they were passing plates.

"What about it?" Bill asked.

"Have you thought about dressing up?" 

Bill shrugged. "Not really." 

She leaned over and took his arm. "Well, Saul and I were talking and we need a third for ours."

Bill glanced at Saul, who was hunched over his oatmeal. Definitely all Ellen's idea, as if he couldn't already tell. 

"What were you going as?"

She smiled. "I was going to go as Aphrodite, so we need you for Ares."

Bill raised an eyebrow. Ares? "I don't really remember Ares and Hephaestus being great friends."

"Well, that was my idea, actually," Ellen went on. Bill noticed Saul was shifting uncomfortably. "I thought, well, wouldn't things have worked out much better if they'd all gotten along?"

Bill smiled at the two of them. "I suppose they would have."

Ellen beamed. "So, you'll do it?"

The top of Saul's head was red. 

"Of course I will."

"Wonderful." Ellen leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Isn't it wonderful, Saul?"

"Sure is." Saul got up from the table and kissed Ellen good-bye. On his way past, he ruffled Bill's hair, something he hadn't done in years. "See you two later."

"Lunch is in the kitchen," Bill told him. 

Saul waved his hand in thanks and Bill settled back with his tea. This really was nice. 

**

Saul didn't like dressing up for Saturnalia. Boy, that was an understatement. 

He frakking _hated_ it. 

"Hold still," Ellen told him, while she pinned the folds of the robe around him. "You don't want to get stuck tonight while you're dancing."

Saul agreed that that was true; he _didn't_ want to get stuck. He glanced over at Bill, who was holding his helmet under one arm. He looked every inch the Olympian, except for the glasses—and the paperback book he had his nose buried in. 

"Are we going to be doing much dancing?" he asked.

"I intend to," Ellen said, looking critically at Saul. "Where's your hammer?"

He sighed. "I don't want to carry it around all night."

"Then put it in your belt!" 

Bill started to laugh. They both looked at him.

"I'm sorry," he said, closing his book. "I just like seeing you two like this. You seem happy."

Saul suddenly felt nervous. If Bill thought he and Ellen looked happy, did that mean he wouldn't want to join their marriage? Did he think Saul and Ellen were perfectly happy without his interfering?

"We are, Bill," Ellen said smoothly, crossing the room to link her arm with his. "But that doesn't mean we can't take you out tonight."

Bill grinned. "Oh, so that's what this is." 

Ellen offered Saul her other arm. "Of course. Did you ever think we had innocent motives?"

Bill smirked at Saul. "Not for a second."

As they left the house arm-in-arm, alarm bells were going off in Saul's head. Was Bill serious? Logically, there was no way he could say those things if he wasn't interested… but Saul's logical mind was also insisting that there was no way Bill could _be_ interested. 

He was interested in you, Saul reminded himself. Maybe it was just a space frak, but he _was_ interested in you.

Somehow, though, that didn't mean he'd be interested in a group relationship. Saul sighed. Why did this have to be so complicated?

Ellen kissed his cheek. "Don't worry so much, Saul. We're going to have fun tonight and wherever that leads…" She trailed off, but her meaning was clear enough. Saul looked over at Bill, but he didn't seem to have heard her. Or he had and he was just smiling. Damn, it was too dark to tell.

They heard the music even before they reached the festival grounds. The entire settlement had turned out for this and they were soon walking in a crowd.

Ellen grinned and swung Bill and Saul's hands. "I can't wait to go dancing. Which one of you wants to be my partner first?"

"Who's to say I don't want to dance with _him_ first?" Bill asked and Saul felt a chill shoot down his spine.

"Well, that wouldn't exactly be in character, would it?" Ellen noted. 

"True," Bill said. He smirked at Saul. "Keep a spot open for me?"

"Certainly."

With that, Bill led Ellen onto the dance floor and Saul went to get them a table and some drinks. It was funny—at any other time in his marriage, he'd have been jealous of Ellen giving attention to somebody else, but this was downright sexy. It was hell sitting at that table, watching Ellen dance with Bill. He seemed to be having a good time, too, which was a relief—while he was reasonably sure Bill was attracted to _him_ , he hadn't been positive about Ellen. She was confident enough, but she'd always been more confident than he had, about just about everything. 

And Bill looked happier than Saul had seen him in ages. They were laughing as they spun about the floor to a fast song, Bill's hand resting casually on her waist. They really did look every inch the perfect couple and for a brief moment, Saul thought he knew how Hephaestus felt. 

_No_ , he told himself. _This is definitely different. This is definitely_ way _different._

At long last, the song ended and Bill and Ellen came back over to him.

"You enjoy yourselves?" he asked, sliding their drinks across the table to him. 

"That was fun," Bill said. "It's been a long time since I went dancing." He didn't mention Laura, but his expression said everything and Saul reached across the table to take his hand. 

"My turn next?" he asked. 

"Not with your wife?" 

Saul smirked. "There'll be time for that. You just look like you want another go."

"Well, first, I'm ditching this." Bill took his helmet off and pulled his hair back into a ponytail. Ellen looked annoyed at his ruining all her hard work—now he just looked like a college kid at a frat party. "C'mon. Let's dance."

Bill's hand was warm and familiar and Saul was transported back to their younger years. It was a slow song and, even though they'd never danced together, Saul found himself moving easily with Bill's body, as they once had in bed. 

Bill had his right hand bracing Saul's back and Saul pressed a bit closer, trying to get a feel of how close Bill wanted to get. Bill's response was to slide his hand down Saul's back, resting just above his ass.

"Probably not the song you wanted," Saul commented.

"It's good enough." Bill had a broad smile on his face, the one that made Saul want to kiss him silly. "I kind of like it."

Saul chuckled. "You would."

Bill spun him and Saul almost felt like he was good at dancing. "I like dancing, you know. I'm glad you wanted to dance with me." 

"'Course I do, Bill." Saul smiled at him and Bill tugged him a bit closer. 

**

From her seat, Ellen could see the two of them as they danced, their bodies moving together closer and closer. She could tell by the way they were looking at each other they were close. They were gazing into each other's eyes as they held each other… She almost liked watching them so much she didn't want to get up and join them, but she knew she had to. 

"Hello, boys." 

They both jumped when she approached them, looking startled.

"Do you want to cut in?" Bill asked. "Sorry I've been monopolizing your husband." 

He didn't look sorry, though, she was glad to note. "Actually, I'd like to _join_ , if that’s all right."

"Fine by me," Saul said, slipping his arm around her. "What about you, Bill?" 

"It sounds good." He took both of their hands, just as a fast song began. "You know, I want to thank you." He and Saul spun Ellen together. "Both of you. I don't know what I'd have done without you these past couple months."

"It's nothing, Bill," Ellen said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Truly nothing."

Bill tightened his grip on both of them. "You didn't have to do this. Open your home to me… I'm sure you wanted time alone to finally enjoy each other. It seems like just when you got to the point in your marriage when you didn't have to include me…" 

"We want to include you," Ellen said. Then, she kissed him, full on the lips. She could tell Saul hadn't been expecting that, because his eye went wide in surprise, then narrowed in desire. As soon as Ellen had released him, Bill kissed Saul. It was so nice to watch them, something she'd never seen before, though she knew they'd done it in the past. She was glad Bill had initiated it, that he was pulling Saul closer, deepening the kiss.

"Maybe we should go someplace private?" she suggested. 

Bill and Saul pulled apart, apparently not having noticed the intensity of their kiss. "Sure," Bill said, not taking his eyes off Saul. He reached for Ellen's hand and they left together. 

"We didn't get to show off our costumes," Ellen said, as they made their way along the path.

"Next year," Bill said, squeezing their hands. "Next year."

**

When they'd left the house, Bill hadn't imagined that, upon their return, their first destination would be Saul and Ellen's bed. They made their way through the house, stripping off various articles of clothing as they went. Bill hadn't yet intellectually prepared himself for the possibility of this. He'd fantasized about it plenty of times, but now that Saul was unbuttoning Bill's shirt to kiss his way down his chest, the possibility was starting to feel more real.

Especially when Ellen reached around from behind to undo his pants. Instinctively, he jerked forward. 

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, feeling like a blushing virgin. "I've never done this before."

"I know," Ellen murmured against his neck. Her hands brushed Saul's and they worked together to finish unbuttoning Bill's shirt. "Leave it to us then."

That sounded like a good idea. He closed his eyes and let them undress him. It was a bit hard to concentrate on two sets of hands roaming about his body. Saul hadn't touched him like that in years and Ellen had done nothing but tease him.

"Let's move somewhere a little more comfortable," Ellen murmured, reaching around Bill to take her husband's hands. "I've been wanting to get both of you into bed."

Bill shivered. Saul was clearly into this too. He'd never imagined it might be like this, that all this time, Saul and Ellen had wanted him. Had they really? He tried to imagine them planning this and his cock only got harder. 

Ellen pushed him gently down onto the bed. "Now," she said to Saul, "what should we do with him?" 

"I know what I'd like to do," Saul said, looking hungrily down at Bill's cock. Ellen smiled and began undoing the wrap around her breasts. 

"I was just thinking that might be a good start…"

**

Saul woke a bit sore, in his shoulders and elsewhere. It had been a while since he'd done anything so… vigorous and he shifted in bed, trying to gather his fuzzy early-morning thoughts. Last night had been real, hadn't it? Saturnalia, Bill and Ellen… _Bill and Ellen_.

He opened his eye and took in the forms next to him. He was on his back in the middle of the bed, with Ellen sprawled beside him like usual. Bill was on his other side, a bit away, curled up with the sheet.

Saul turned carefully, trying not to wake either of them so he could watch Bill. He was fast asleep still, but there was a faint smile on his face—a good dream, then. Gingerly, he reached out to brush Bill's hair back so he could see more of it. 

"Good morning."

Saul started. "I'm sorry, Bill. Did I wake you?"

"No." Bill covered Saul's hand on his cheek with his own. "You're fine." They stayed like that for a moment, just smiling at each other. Thirty years, they'd been friends and they could just do this, communicate without speaking. Saul was surprised by how little had changed since last night. It was still him and Bill (and Ellen). He kissed him.

"How'd you sleep?" Bill asked, letting Saul's hand go. He slid a little closer and slipped an arm around him. Saul rested his head on Bill's chest. 

"Fine. You?"

"Best sleep I've had in years." He chuckled. "Years. Gods." He rubbed his eye.

Saul squeezed his hand. "It's good to see you looking like your old self." 

"Well, now we're all awake." Ellen draped herself over Saul. "How are you, Bill?"

"I feel great." He smiled. "What is this, an interrogation?"

"A bit." Ellen reached over Saul and twisted a lock of Bill's hair around her finger. "Just wondering how you felt this morning."

"Fantastic," Bill said. "Last night was…" He trailed off, seemingly unable to express himself. "I hope…"

Ellen slipped her arms against both of them, her breasts pressing into Saul's back. "It's not just last night, Bill, if you want."

Bill's smile widened. "I'd like that very much."

**

"So, did you do it?"

Figurski's question made Saul freeze. "What?" Could everybody tell? Not that he was somehow ashamed about Bill, but…

"On Saturnalia." Figurski was looking at him like he was nuts. "Gibson."

" _Oh_. No. I forgot." Saul went back to pulling up shingles on the roof they were fixing. 

"You _forgot_? What the frak were you doing?"

"Better things."

Figurski snickered. "Okay, I'll buy that." He got back to work, still smirking. 

"What?"

"I'm sure you can come up with a better way to piss him off."

"What?"

Figurski nodded down to who was standing by the fence. Bill. That was when Saul realized he'd forgotten his lunch. 

Bill was trying to give it to Gibson.

"I know what I'd do if I were you," Figurski said. "Frak, he _loves_ the Old Man. If you went down there right now, and…"

"What are you getting at?"

He snorted. "Don't think I didn't see you."

Saul tugged at his collar. "So?"

Figurski gave him a nudge. "You want your lunch, don't you?"

Saul put two and two together. "Yeah…" He slid toward the edge of the roof and scrambled down the ladder. Figurski had to be watching. He drew up to Bill and Gibson with a swagger and tossed a glance over his shoulder. From here, he could see Figurski shaking with suppressed laughter. So amusing the guy was his good deed for the day. 

"Hey, Bill." He slung his arm around him and kissed him. "Come to pay me a visit?" 

Bill beamed. "You forgot your lunch."

"I noticed." Saul took it from him and kissed him again. 

Gibson was getting flustered. "Do that on your own time, Toaster."

"Hey," Bill said sharply. "What did you just call him?"

Gibson didn’t know what to say to that. Figurski was right—he really liked Bill. 

Bill ignored him. "Does Ellen know about this?"

Saul shrugged. 

"Look," Bill went on, not even giving Saul a chance to speak. "Thirty years ago, I thought you two were just incompatible personalities. That happens sometimes and it's usually okay as long as the work gets done. But this is just plain bad leadership, Dave."

Gibson blanched. 

"You know," Saul cut in, "I have some private work lined up. I think I'm going to get a start on it." He linked arms with Bill and they left. 

He didn't look back. He didn't care whether Gibson was glad, upset, didn't care… Well, Saul sure as hell didn't care.

He grinned at Bill.

"I wish I had your courage," Bill said. "Walk off a job like that. Probably explains your employment problem in your early thirties." 

Saul snickered and shook his head. 

"You're not going back, are you?"

"Nope." He beamed. "I can take care of myself. I have some work lined up." 

"You're braver than I'd be."

"I know. That's why you have me." Saul kissed him. "I make you take risks."

Bill smiled fondly at him and sidled closer to him. "You're right. And I love you for it."

A deep snow had fallen overnight and Bill trudged through it, overcoat wrapped tightly around him.

"You didn't have to come," he said.

"Yes, we did," Ellen said, adjusting the container of salve in her arms. "You couldn't carry all of this by yourself and Helo had to get back to his wife."

"And you two have your hands full; no way would I let you go out without a lantern," Saul said. 

"I love you both," Bill said. 

"Love you, too."

Bill smiled. He appreciated their getting out of their warm bed to come with him, even though they did it every time Bill got a late-night call. He knew they hadn't signed on for this, so to speak, since when they'd married him, he'd only just been exploring herbs and was nowhere near the unofficial village healer he'd become. 

Now, though, especially in winter, people needed access to the stores Bill had built up before the first frost and he was occasionally awakened in the middle of the night. 

He'd had to do some brewing tonight, too, and he was always grateful for their help when he was working over a hot pot.

They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, Saul's lantern's gentle swinging casting shadows over the pristine white snow. Bill still wasn't used to that, drifts of fresh snow, not turning gray and sandy after city work crews had gone to work on them. 

He let out a soft sigh, letting his breath hang in the air. 

Ellen smiled at him. "Hera will be fine, Bill. She's strong and you know how many children have gotten this fever."

"I know," he said. "I just wish Cottle could make it back to our village." 

"He will." Ellen rubbed his shoulders. "Let's just get this to the Agthons." 

Helo and Athena were grateful for Bill's help. This was the part he liked best about his job, seeing people so happy to see help come to their loved ones. They stayed long enough to see that Hera's fever was down and then the three of them took their leave. 

"That hits a little too close to home sometimes," Bill said, as they stepped back out into the night. "I remember when the boys were sick at that age. It's awful."

"Still think I'm glad we never had kids," Saul said.

"Yes, well, don't count that out now," Ellen said.

" _What_?" Saul spun, the lantern clanking. "Is there something you're not telling us?" 

Ellen laughed. "I was talking about _Lee_ , dear. I don't think it'll be long before he settles down."

Saul shrugged. "If he ever bothers to come back."

"He'll come back," Bill said. "He can't stay out there by himself for too long." He paused. "Plus, I still have to tell him about us." 

"Oh, I know, I know." Bill could see his smile where his scarf had fallen away from his face. "You're cute when you get insistent like that."

"I just want it to go well…"

"It will," Ellen said, linking arms with Bill. "We're far from the first group marriage here. And there will certainly be others." 

"You're right," Bill said, feeling better. "I should have learned that by now, shouldn't I? You're always right." 

Ellen kissed him. "You can say that as many times as you like, Bill." 

Saul shook his head and laughed. "You two drive me nuts, you know that?"

"You're just tired," Ellen said, slipping her arm through his, too. "Let's go back to bed."

They did just that and it did make Saul more agreeable by the time he went off to work. 

"Stay warm today, okay?" Bill said, as he handed Saul his lunch. 

"I will," Saul said. "This one's going to be a tough one." He went on to explain the plumbing system he and Figurski were developing. He had already explained it at least five times before, but Bill listened each time because Saul was so happy about it. Leaving the Gibson job had really been the best for him, and his departure had set off a whole wave of them, so that now Saul was heading his own work crew. Bill hadn't thought Saul would have been happy going back to being bossed around after all those years as an officer, and he was right.

He walked Saul a ways down the path and kissed him good-bye. "Have a good day." That was when he noticed Lee.

They all stared at each other.

"Hey, Dad," Lee finally said. 

"Hello, son."

Saul gave Bill a questioning look. "I have to get to work," he said. Bill could tell he wasn't saying it out of wanting to get out of talking to Lee; he was saying it out of wanting to let Bill decide if he wanted to talk to Lee alone. 

"Then go." Bill gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later." 

Saul gave him a reassuring smile and left. 

"So," Lee said, once Saul had gone. 

"It's good to see you, Lee. It's been a long time." Bill took a hesitant step forward, his arms open for a tentative hug. "How long are you back for?" 

"For good." Lee hugged him and Bill closed his eyes, relieved that Lee had not immediately pressed him for information regarding his relationship. 

"Bill?" Ellen came to the front door. "Oh my God! Lee!" She hurried forward and hugged him, clearly catching Lee off-guard. 

"Ellen?" He was starting to look confused now—Bill suspected he might have thought that Saul and Ellen were no longer together. 

She held him out at arm's length. "It's so good to see you, Lee." She beamed. "We were just talking about you the other day."

"You were?" Lee looked back and forth between Bill and Ellen. It was probably time for an explanation. Bill cleared his throat. 

"Let's go inside and sit down. We have a lot of catching up to do."


End file.
